Coogs at Comicpalooza: Leraldo Anzaldua

He’s known for playing a teen zombie fighter and the leader of a team of super hero ninjas. University of Houston alumnus Leraldo Anzaldua, however, also is recognized as a member of the esteemed Houston Shakespeare Festival acting company.

This weekend, Anzaldua is among the many guests at Houston’s pop culture convention Comicpalooza, May 22 – 25 at the George R. Brown Convention Center. He’ll sign autographs and lead workshops in voice acting and stage combat. He’ll also have some promotional items for the 2015 Houston Shakespeare Festival (HSF) – produced by UH’s School of Theatre & Dance – to share.

This year, Anzaldua has the plum role of MacDuff, adversary of the title character in “Macbeth” (July 31 – Aug. 8 at Miller Outdoor Theatre). The highly physical role is perfect for Anzaldua, an expert in stage combat and a longtime fight director for the festival.

Anzaldua grew up in Pasadena, Texas and attended Louisiana Tech University. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he returned to Houston and enrolled at UH. Since earning his Master of Fine Arts, he’s been a fixture on campus. He’s taught classes for the University’s School of Theatre & Dance and its summer Houston Shakespeare Festival Conservatory. And he’s been a recurring HSF company member since 2005. Audiences will remember his performances in “Othello, the Moor of Venice,” “Henry IV, 1” and other productions.

Anzaldua also has contributed his talents as a fight director to Ensemble Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, A.D. Players and Catastrophic Theatre.

He admits that his foray into anime was a fluke. He connected with some old friends at a wedding, who informed him that they worked in the finance department of Houston’s A.D. Vision Films. He passed along his business card and soon received a call to audition for roles in English-translations of Japanese animated features.

Anzaldua isn’t the only Coog contributing his talents to animated features. Other anime actors include alums Andrew Love, Sara Ornelas, Robert Price and Robert Meek among others.

Creative Pride caught up with Anzaldua to chat about his career in anime and with the Houston Shakespeare Festival.

Anzaldua’s character, Ken from ‘Gatchaman’

Creative Pride: This weekend, you’ll discuss your career as a voice actor on numerous anime productions. Without giving away anything from your panels, what kind of advice can you share with aspiring voice actors?

Leraldo Anzaldua: The first thing I’d tell them is to move to a city with a studio that is producing these features. Unlike announcing or other voiceover work, actors have to record their scripts in a studio with the director. Secondly, practice as much as possible. Watch cartoons or anime features. Practice voices, mimic characters and refine your sound. After that, record a demo and send it to studios you’d like to work with.

Creative Pride: So, you can’t do this kind of work from a home studio?

Anzaldua: Correct. You have to be in the studio watching the film with the sound engineer and director. It helps you to match your voice with the character’s attitude and capture the right voice speed and intonation.

Creative Pride: How did your training at UH prepare you for a career in voice work?

Anzaldua: Well, my training from both Louisiana Tech University and UH provided me with the tools to use my voice … to enunciate correctly, speak well and speak with confidence. At UH, the training I received helped refine my tools, so I could do what was necessary for the job. It taught me to be an effective stage actor and also trained me to hone my instruments – my voice, my throat – and change them as I took on different characters.

Anzaldua: My personal favorite is Ken from the “Gatchaman” series. American audiences might know this show as the source material for syndicated shows “Battle of the Planets” and “G-Force.” That was my breakthrough role and the initial series ran for 105 episodes. “Gatchaman” allowed me to hone my craft and learn the character’s personal nuances to make him my own. Ken’s the character that’s dearest to my heart.

Another character I like is Yuta from “Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions.” It’s a teen romance. I also loved Takashi from “High School of the Dead,” a show about teenagers facing the zombie apocalypse.

Creative Pride: Your “Gatchaman” character is an iconic anime character in both America and Japan. What was your familiarity with Ken before being cast as him.

Anzaldua: I was very familiar with him, so it was awesome to get this role. It was daunting and scary, but very cool. I remember running home from school to watch the American version of this show, which was titled “Battle of the Planets.” I’d be very excited, and I remember Casey Kasem doing a voice on the show. When I auditioned and discovered that I’d be playing Ken on “Gatchaman,” I was a little scared. The franchise has a huge following around the world, and the character is very iconic and very archetypal. This show was at the forefront of the big robot and monster cartoons that were released in the U.S. I was worried about what the fans would say about my portrayal of this character. The more I voice him, the more comfortable I became. I’m very honored to be a part of this series.

Creative Pride: How much has your work with anime features enhanced your appreciation for the voices you listened to as a kid on Saturday mornings or after school?

Anzaldua: A lot. I look back at all of the cartoons I enjoyed as a child. I can see them through a different lens now. I’ll go back and watch things online and enjoy the flair, flavor and skill that actors put into the characters I liked. Also, I’m able to recognize where those shows were technologically and the challenges they probably encountered. It’s very cool to watch this stuff and compare it to where animation is today.

Creative Pride: Audiences know your voice, but Houstonians see you up close and personal at the Houston Shakespeare Festival. How are you able to switch gears from voice work to stage work?

Anzaldua: Being on a live stage is more challenging, but it’s a lot more free. I can use my entire body to show off a character. And I draw on my background in using movement, as well as my voice. In the studio, it’s usually just me with a microphone and a monitor. Both jobs actually complement each other. Through all of my physical activity, I can control my breathing and my pitch. And the voice work helps me project what I’m saying and enunciate for the audience. It’s helped me to be understood by audiences. The stage work and voice work are totally different types of acting, but I’m fortunate to be involved with both. They’ve helped become a better performer.